Control mechanism for liquid fuel burners



March 24, 1942'. J. LITHGOW ETAL 2,277,237

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR A LIQUID FUEL BURNER Filed Oct. 4, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 24, 1942.. J H ow ETAL 2,277,237

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR A LIQUID FUEL BURNER Filed Oct. 4, 1959 s Sheets-Sheet 2 March 24, 1942. .1. LITHGOW EI'AL 2,277,237

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR A'LIQUID FUEL BURNER Filed Oct. 4, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 24, 1942 UNiTED STATES PATENT o FIc' CONTROL BIECHBANISM FOR LIQUID FUEL John Lithgow and Leslie K. Jackson, Cleveland, Ohio, and Earnest if. Dillman, Detroit; Mich,

' assignors to Sears, Roebuck and 00., Chicago,

111., a corporation of New York Application center 4, 1939, Serial No. 297,958

' 6 Claims. ((1137-68) Our invention relates to a control mechanism for a liquid fuel burner, and more particularly our invention relates to control mechanism especially adapted to control the heating period of a liquid fuel burner for an intermittent absorption refrigeration system.

anism described in the aforementioned co-pending application. It furnishes a positive control for the amount of fuel supplied to the ,burner of the refrigeration unit and therefore is a positive control of the amount of refrigerant supplied to the evaporator of the system. In prior art control units, several thermostatic power elements were generally used. As a rule, one of these thermostatic elements or bulbs was located in the evaporator of the refrigeration unit and a second in the generator. The first power element was effective to supply fuel through the controlling mechanism to the burner, thus initiating a generating cycle. The second thermostatic power element which was located in the generator was effective to terminate the supply of fuel to the burner, stop the generating period and initiate an absorption or refrigerating period. The second thermostatic power element was usually not very effective for the purpose intended. Inasmuch as toward the end of the generating period the change in temperature in the generator is relatively slight over a long period of time, it is obvious that the controlling element was necessarily very critical.

In some instances, a thirdcontrolling element or ambient control exposed to temperature of the room in which the refrigerator was located was used. The use of this third controlling element temperature, through which the ambient element should necessarily regulate, increased the poss1-' bility of inaccuracy throughout the entire range. Another undesirable feature in the ambient element is evident when the effect of a defective ambient bulb is considered. The function of this element, as described previously, is to offer a resistance to the generator power element and, if the ambient bellows for some reason fails, thenthe generator element could have no resisting member, which would mean that the generator element would respond to shut oil the fuel supply earlier than desired. This, therefore, would offer a disadvantage in that the control could not be operated manually in a satisfactory manner pending the replacement of anew ambient ele-- ment.

The use of three power elements necessitated a relatively complex controlling linkage which often needed frequent adjustments.

It is one of the objects of our invention there= fore to provide a compact controlling unit for an intermittent absorption refrigeration system which is effective to positively control the amount of fuel supplied to the burner in order to limit the length of the generation period.

Another object of our invention is to provide a controlling mechanism compactly housed in a single casing member.

A third object of our invention is to provide a casing member for a control element adapted to receive a controlling float and an operating valve.

Still another object of our invention is to provide in an integral casing member a metering chamber and a controlling trough-like portion capable of regulating the flow of fuel to the burner of the unit.

Various other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent from the subsequent description and drawings.

Referring to the drawings forming part of the specification and illustrating a preferred embodiment of our invention,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the control unit.

- Fig. 2 is a plan view of the top cover of the control,

Fig. 3 is a reduced side elevation of the unit with the upper portion thereof broken away,

Fig. 4 is a detail of a manually operated controlling element,

Fig. 5 is a detail of a thermostatically operated controlling element,

Fig. 6 is a detail of the manual controlling knob and dial arrangement of the controlling element shown in Fig. 4, and

a portion.

communicating with the metering chamber of the unit taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings and particularly Fig. 1 reference numeral l8 indicates in general a casing member for the control unit. The casing member It comprises a relatively large metering chamber having 9. depending portion 2 and an auxiliary casing portion l3 integral therewith. The casing portion I3 is provided with a valve chamber in the body thereof and a trough-like portion l4 located Just above the valve casing The valve casing communicates with the metering chamber at the bottom thereof by means of a port l8 and with the trough by means of a port I8. A port i1 is also provided in the valve casing which is adapted to be connected to any suitable source of liquid fuel, such as a kerosene tank or the like.

Mounted in the valve casing for limited vertical reciprocating movement is a valve core l8 provided with two conical portions "and 28 and a valve stem or operating member 2| In the position shown in Fig. 1, the valve core and stem are in their lowermost position and the conical portion 20 is effective to prevent communication between the ports II and I1. When moved to its uppermost position, the conical portion l8 of the valve core |8 prevents communication between the ports l8 and II.

The metering chamber is provided with a cover 22. A groove 23 extending circumferentlally about the lower face of the cover 22 cooperates with the upper end of the walls of the chamber I and may be provided with an annular packing member effective to establish an airtight seal for the chamber Depending and integral with the cover 22. is a well 24. with an opening 28 at its lower end which is adapted to permit the entry of an operating member 28 into the lower portion H of the metering chamber. Surrounding the well 24 is a float 21 provided with a downwardly extending tubular member 28. The tubular member and float are capable of a reciprocating motion within the metering chamber l2 and the portion II, respectively.

Ribs 28 formed on the outer surface of the well 24 and ribs 38 formed on the inner surface of the depending portion l2 function as guides for the tubular member during its upward-and downward motion. The lower end of the tubular member 28 is provided with a seat 3| adapted to receive and cooperate with the operating member 28. Openings 32 are provided in the lower end of the tubular member in order to permit free access of liquid to the interior of the well 24.

The casing I8 is also provided with an integral oilset bore 33 opening at its upper end into the metering chamber II and at its lower end into the trough H by means ofthe ports 34 and 38,.

respectively, for a purpose to be hereinafter described. The port 88, as shown in Fig. 7, is slanted at a considerable angle from the horizontal. The trough I4 is provided with an over- .flow outlet 38 which is adaptedto be connected to a liquid fuel burner of a conventional type. It is to be noted that the inlet to the port 38 is located at a lower level than at least most of the port 38. The trough I4 is also provided with an outlet 31 having an inlet end located at a height The well 24 is provided cover 22 is also provided with a pair of integral opposed members 40 and 4| which are adapted to form a support for the control mechanism proper. A suitable cover 42 is adapted to extend over the two opposed members so as to provide a dustproof casing for the control mechanism.

The control mechanism proper consists of a main bell crank lever 43 pivoted on a floating pin 44. The pin 44 is supported at each end by a bridge lever 48 which is in turn pivoted on a pin 48 supported at each end by the supporting members 48 and 4|, respectively. The bell crank lever 43 serves to support the operating member 28 which is loosely connected thereto and is also provided with a downwardly extending tall 41 loosely connected, as at 48, to an operating link 48. The other end of the operating link 48 is loosely connected, as at 88, to a depending portion 8| of a toggle lever 82. The toggle lever 82 is also pivoted on the pin 48, and, as shown in Fig. 1, the right end thereof is in its lowermost position and resting against the stop 83 carried by the cover 22. It is to be understood that the toggle lever 82 is capable of a rotational or swin ing movement about the pivot or pin 48.

The toggle lever 82 is also provided with an upwardly extending thrust member 82a for a purpose to be hereinafter set forth and with a pivot 84 which is adapted to receive one end of toggle spring 88. The other end of the spring 88 or lefthand end, as shown in Fig. 1, is carried by a pivot member 88 on the righthand end of lever 81. The lever 81 is also pivoted on the pin 48 and at its lefthand end carries a nut 88 which is adapted to be received on the threaded end 88 of the valve operating rod 2|. Also pivoted on the "pin 48 is a relatively flat lever linked at one end to an upwardly extending thrust member 8| and carrying a gear sector 82 at its other end.

A laterally extending lug 83 extends from the lower edge of the lever 88 which cooperates with an angular pawl detent 84 also pivoted on the pin 48. Pivoted on the toggle lever 82 at 85 is a pawl 88 adapted to cooperate with the gear teeth 82 carried by the lever 88 except when held out of engagement by the detent 84. The pawl 88 is provided with a tall 81 which is adapted to cooperate with a stationary hook or stop 88 when the assembly of the pawl and toggle lever is moved in an upward direction.

The bridge lever 48 may be adjusted or moved in an upward or downward direction by the gear segment 88 integral therewith which cooperates with a gear 10 which in turn is moved by the pointer 1|. If an ambient control is incorpo-- rated in the device, the bridge lever 43 is linked to a thrust member 12 which may be moved in an upward or downward direction by an ambient power bellows 13. The ambient bellows is actuated by a fluid filled bulb 14 exposed to the temperature of the room in which the refrigerator being controlled is operated, in a manner well known in the art.

The thrust member 8| is supported at its lower end by a spring "which normally tends to move the thrust member 8| in an upward direction. The downward movement of the thrust member 8| is limited by a screw-threaded rod 18 carried by the cover 22. A nut 11 may be moved upwardly and downwardly on the screw-threaded rod 18 in order to vary the tension of the spring 18. The thrust member 8| is provided with a socket 18 in its upper end which is adapted to receive an actuating member 18 of the thermostatic power element or bellows indicated in general at B8.

. ture of the evaporator of a refrigeration unit. It I is to be further understood that when the temperature in the evaporator of the refrigeration unit rises, the thermostatic power element expands .and moves the member 19 in a downward direction, and, that when the temperature in the evaporator becomes lower, contraction of the power element will permit the member 19 to move upwardly under the influence of thespring 15. 6 a

Operation of the control device is as follows: In the position shown in Fig. 1, the various parts are shown in the positions they will assume during the burner operation. The conical portion IQ of the valve 2| is in its lower position-and fuel is flowing from the metering chamber through the port l5, port l6; trough f4 and outlet 36 to the burner of the unit. It is to be understood that the desirable level of fuel in the burner is somewhat above the level of the inlet 36 and the port 35. It is obvious that if the fuel level in the burner is above this point, the port35 is liquid-sealed and no air will be supplied to the chamber through the port 34 and the bore 33.

The sealing of the bore will thus create a partial {vacuum in the chamber II when any fuel flows When a substantial amount of the fuel in the chamber II has been thus fed to the burner, the' float 21 will be lowered and the seat 3| on the tubular portion 26 will be moved away from the operating member 26, thus preparing thefloat and operating member 26 for a new cycle of operation as will be hereinafter described.

The evaporator of the unit will also become warmer during burner operation (generating pe-' riod) and the corresponding heating of the thermostatic bulb 82 will cause an expansion of the thermostatic-power element 86 and a-movement of the thrust member 6| in a downward di ection. The ratchet member or lever 60 is thus rotated about the pin 46 in a counterclockwise d rection and the lug 63 on the ratchet member will move the detent 64 in a counterclockwise di ection to release the pawl 66. The pawl 66 will then drop into engagement with the ratchet member. It is to be noted that at this time the ratchet member is in such a position that the pawl 66 will contact the smooth portion of the ratchet member to the lower right of the ratchet teeth so that as the temperature in the evaporator continues to rise, the pawl will not hinder the rotation of the ratchet member in a counter-' clockwise direction.

The feeding of all the fuel in the chamber M to the burner will cause the burner to cease operation and the refrigerating or, evaporation period will then start in a manner well known in the art. The cooling of the evaporator of the refrigerator unit will cool the fluid in the bulb 82, causing the thermostatic powerelement 66 to contract and allowing the thrust member 6| to .move upwardly. This upward movement of the thrust member 6| will cause the lefthand end of the lever 66 to move in an upward direction and the righthand end to move downwardly clockwise.

During this movement, the pawl will ride over the teeth 62 on the ratchet member until, when a comparatively low'temperature in the evaporator is reached, the pawl willhave reached the bare section to the left of the ratchet teeth and will continue to ride on the bare section during any further lowering of the temperature. When all of the refrigerant in the evaporator has been evaporated, the temperature thereof will rise, and when a certain predetermined temperature has been reached, the corresponding counterclockwise movement of the lever 66 and the gear teeth 62 will move the'pawl in a counterclockwise direction. This movement of the pawl will be transmitted through the pivot 65 to the toggle lever 52 and from the toggle lever to the righthand end of the toggle spring 55. As soon as the righthand end of the spring has gone past dead center, the left hand end of thespring 55 and the righthand end of the lever 51 will jump downwardly rais ng the lefthand end of the lever 51, the nut 58 and the valve stem 2|. This movement of the valve stem will cause the eoniealportion l9 to close the port I6 and will openeommuni'zation between the port I1 and the 'port l5. Fuel will then be fed through the ports l1 and I5 into the metering chamber I.

As the metering chamber fills with fuel, the

float 21 will rise carrying with it thetubular member 28 and the seat 3|.

26 and through it the lefthand end of themain lever 43. The lifting of the lefthand end of lever 43 will cause the. lever to rotate in a clock wise direction about the pivot 44 and will/move the link 49 in a lefthand direction, as seen in Fig. 1. Movement of the link 49 to the left will cause the toggle lever 52 to moveabout the pivot 46 in a clockwise direction. The movement of the toggle lever will move the pivot 54 thereon in. a

member 52a on the lever and the engagement of the upper end of this lever with the detent 64 will serve to raise the pawl 66 to the position shown in Fig. 1.

The point at which the seat 3| becomes operative upon the lever 26 can be varied by raising or lowering the pivot 44. This is effected by the manual rotation of. the handle H and the gear 10 in the modification shown in Figs. '4 and 6. Obviously a rotation of the gear 16 will move the rack '69 in an upward and downward direction, and, since the rack 69 is a part of the bridge lever 45, this movement will lower or raise the pin 46, the main lever 43 and the operating member 26.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5, this movement of the bridge lever 45 is effected by an ambient control or power member l3. An expansion of the power member due ,to higher tempera- I At a predetermined v 7 point. the seat 3| will lift the operating member tures in the room surrounding the refrigerator will raise the bridge lever 45 and therefore a greater quantity of fuel and a higher level of the float 21 will be reached before the seat 3| actuates the operating member 26.

Various modifications and changes coming within the spirit of our invention may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and, hence, we do not wish to be limited to the specific forms shown or uses mentioned except to the extent indicated in the appended claims, which are to be interpreted as broadly as the state of the art will permit.

We claim:

1. In a control mechanism for a liquid fuel burner, a casing having a relatively large metering chamber, a laterally extending member having an upper trough-like portion and a valve casing depending therefrom, said valve casing having one port opening into the trough-like portion,

a second port opening into the lower portion of the metering chamber, and a third port communicating with a source of liquid fuel, a valve core operative in one position to connect the second and third ports to feed fuel into the chamber and in another position to connect the first and second ports to discharge fuel from the chamber into the trough-like portion, an outlet for said trough-like portion and means to limit the flow of fuel from said chamber into said trough-like portion in accordance with the flow from said trough-like portion through said outlet.

2. In a control mechanism for a liquid fuel burner, a casing having a relatively large metering chamber, a laterally extending member having an upper trough-like portion and a valve casing depending therefrom, said valve casing having one port opening into the trough-like, portion, a second port opening into the lowerportion of the metering chamber, and a third port communicating with a source of liquid fuel, a valve core operative in one position to connect the second and third ports to feed fuel into the chamber and in another position to connect the first and second ports to discharge fuel from the chamber into the trough-like portion, and communicating means opening into the upper end of the metering chamber and into the trough-like portion adjacent the bottom thereof.

3. In a control mechanism for a liquid "fuel burner, a casing having a relatively large metering chamber, an integral laterally extending member having an upper trough-like portion and an integral valve casing depending therefrom, said valve casing having one port opening into the trough-like portion, another port opening into the lower portion of the metering chamber and a third port communicating with a source of liquid fuel, a valve core operative in one position to connect the second and third ports to feed fuel into the chamber and in another position to connect the first and second ports to discharge fuel from the chamber into the trough.

I and a laterally offset integral bore opening into the trough-like portion at its lower end and into the chamber at its upper end.

4. In a control mechanism for a liquid fuel burner, a casing having a relatively large metering chamber, a laterally extending member having an upper trough-like portion and a valve casing depending therefrom, said valve casing having one port opening into the trough-like portion, a second port opening into the lower portion of the metering chamber, and a third port communicating with a source of liquid fuel, a valve core operative in one position to connect the second and third ports to feed fuel into the chamber and in another position to connect the first and second ports to discharge fuel from the chamber into the trough, a vertically extending well depending from said cover into said metering chamber, an operating member extending into the chamber through said well, means responsive to level changes of the liquid in the chamber to move the operating member, a valve operating member extending from said valve core, and means carried by said cover to operatively connect the first operating member and the valve operating member to move the valve into the second mentioned position when a predetermined level of liquid is reached in the metering chamber.

5. In a control mechanism for a liquid fuel burner, a casing having a relatively large metering chamber, a cover for said chamber, a laterally extending member having an upper troughlike portion anda valve casing depending therefrom, said valve casing having one port opening into the trough-like portion, a second port opening into the lower portion of the metering chamber, and a third port communicating with a source of liquid fuel, a valve core operative in one position toconnect the second and third ports to feed fuel into the chamber and in another position to connect the first and second ports to discharge fuel from the chamber into the trough, a vertically extending well depending from said cover into said metering chamber, an operating member extending into the chamber through said well, a float surrounding the well and having a depending member provided with a seat for said operating member and effective to move the operating member when a predetermined level of liquid is reached in the chamber.

-a valve operating member extending from said valve core, and means carried by said cover to operatively connect the first operating member and the valve operating member to move the valve into the second mentioned position when a predetermined level of liquid is reached in the metering chamber.

6. In a control mechanism for a liquid fuel burner, a casing having a relatively large metering chamber, a laterally extending member having an upper trough-like portion and a valve cas-' ing depending therefrom, said valve casing having one port opening into the trough-like portion,. a second port opening into the lower portion of the metering chamber, and a third port communicating with a source of liquid fuel, a 

